Writing pad for temporary notatins



y 13, 1952 G. w. DECHERT WRITING PAD FOR TEMPORARY NOTATIONS Filed A1948 .11 I ZUP Patented May 13, 1952 WRITING PAD FORTEMiRA RYNOTATIQ'NS' George W. Dechert, Chicago, 111;

Application August 1a, 1948, Serial No. 44,193 7 Claims. (oi. 3546) Thisinvention is an improvement in writing pads now used for notations of atemporary nature. These pads comprise a black base with a dark plasticimpressionable surface such as wax, and an impression sheet removablysuperimposed on said surface and masking the color of the base, butadapted to adhere to said surface and show the areas of adhesion when astylus or similar writing instrument is pressed thereon. Upon separationof the impression sheet from the base by any suitable means provided, orby lifting, the temporary adhesion between the impression sheet and baseis broken, whereupon the impression sheet again masks the color of thebase, erasing the visible areas of adhesion. The surface of theimpression sheet opposite the base may be clear and may comprise thewriting surface of the pad. Alternatively, the pad may have atransparent Celluloid sheet overlying the impression sheet which maycomprise the writing surface of the a pad, being adapted for longerusage than a cellophane'or other fragile impression sheet.

An object of this invention is to provide means on pads of this type toenable users thereof, without the exercise of artistic ability ortedious tracing or copying eifort to produce pictures, cartoons,designs, and other indicia in either black and white or colorcombinations by the simple expedient of moving a stylus back and f forthacross the writing surface of the pad much in the manner normally usedin sharpeningthe dull graphite point of a pencil, which designs may becompletely removed upon separation of the impression sheet from thebase.

It is another object of this inventionto provide visible indications onpads containing designs adapted to be completely removed to enableuser's to readily locate the portions of the writingpa'ds on which thedesired designs may be produced.

Another object of this invention is to provide designs in black andwhite or various color combinations, portions of which are visible atall times, which portions are adapted to be'added to or supplemented byother designs upon'app'lication of the stylus to the writing surface;Upon removal of the impression sheet froni'thebase; the portions of thedesign prodiiced'byi the stylus are removed. In thismanner; eitherartisticor' humorous effects will result.

Other and further objects and .a'dvantag'esof this invention will beapparent'to thoseskilled" in the art from the following descriptionoftheannexed sheet of drawings which, by way of preferred examples only,illustrates. bodiments of this invention.

several em 2 The designs and other indicia of this invention may beeither mixed on the base, the sheets or coatings-of this invention; oron any of the sheets above the base. If desired, the designs of thisinvention may be located along one or more edges of the pad, enabling aportion of the pad to be used for notations or free-hand drawing. If thepadis to be used by children, and contains designs of the type which areadapted to disappear completely from view upon lifting the impressionsheet from the base, it will be desirable to visibly indicate the namesof animals, birds, and so forth, directly adjacent the points wherethese will be produced upon applicationof the stylus tothe writingsurface.

Silhouettes and other more complete designs according to this inventionare produced through the media of very thin sheets which serve asstencils or masking elements which contain variouscut out portionsdefining such designs, or may comprise the cut out portions removed fromsuch thin sheets, which may be placed directly in-contact with the base.These sheets may be colored substantially the same color and shade asthat which appears on the base, in order that th y are effectivelymasked below the impression sheetwith; the base, or they may betransparent, in order that they may likewise be masked below theimpression sheet and,- in addition, will permit visible reproduction ofdesigns of any color or combination of colors on the base uponapplication of the stylus to the writing surface, such colors beingvisible-through the cut out portions of the sheets. Alternatively, itwill be understood that the sheets ofthis invention may be produced withvarious contrasting colors and designson the solid portionsthereofsupplementing or completing the designs in the cut out portionsthereof.

Itis not necessary to use care in the reproduction of the designs, sincethe coatings or sheets of this invention'will only permit the productionof visible lines' within the confines of the cutout, or wax exposed,portions thereof, andwill eifectively' prevent the visible appearance ofany lines which extend over thesolid portions thereof unless suchportions' are wax coated ashereinafter disclosed.

The sheets of this invention are adapted either forinsertion'inthe'p'ad'after the pad'has been ent, depending upon the effects desiredin a' particular instance; If the sheets are opaque they'inay;if'desired, have the face thereof contactlng the impression sheetsubstantially the same color and shade as that on the base, and, ifperfectly matched, will be invisible to the user of the pad even whenthe impression sheet and writing sheet are lifted from the base. If thesheets of this invention are to be inserted directly on the base, theycan, if desired, have a gelatinous or other slightly tacky coating ontheir surface contacting the base which will enable them to remainfairly firmly fixed during use. Thin transparent sheets of cellophane,or plastics similar in texture to cellophane, are useful as insert sincethey will adhere to the base when pressed thereagainst and will bemasked by the impression sheet. or opaque sheets are used, they shouldPreferably be colored the same or substantially the same as the colorand shade on the base. Thin, soft sheets composed of finely wovenfabrics, or rubberized fabrics such as rubberized silk, rayon, or' thelike, are also useful in this invention. Such sheets or other sheets ofthe character described as preferred types of sheets which are notinherently adapted to adhere to or lie firmly in contact with the basemay be provided with any suitable means to hold them in place. However,it has been found that the solid portions of the insert sheet will beheld flatly against the base, after application of the stylus, due tothe temporary adhesion which occurs between the base and the impressionsheet at the cut out portions after application of the stylus to thewriting surface.

If the sheets of this invention are integrally bound in the pad, itwill, of course, not be necessary that they be adapted to adhere to thebase, but they should preferably be very thin, flexible, and very pliantin order that the complete design in the cut-out portions thereof may beeasily produced upon application of the stylus to the writing surface.Very thin sheets of Celluloid and other plastics of that type areuseful, as well as thin sheets of various other types.

If transparent sheets are used in this invention, it will be apparentthat various color combinations may be applied directly to the basebelow a paraffin coating on such sheets, which may be rendered visibleupon application of a stylus or similar writing instrument to thewriting surface.

If the sheets of this invention are other than transparent, and havetheir surfaces colored contrastingly to the color on the base, they may,in addition, have a parafl'm coating applied thereto on the face thereofwhich contacts the impression sheet, in which event any colors anddesigns on the solid part of the insert will be brought into viewsimultaneously with the designs in the cut-out portions thereof uponapplication of the stylus, and the complete design may be removed uponseparation of the impression sheet from the base.

If desired, the sheets of this invention may be eliminated by treatingor producing the base of the pad as follows:

Before the parafiin coating is applied, the base may be temporarilycovered with a stencil during. the coating operation,.which stencil maylater be removed. The parts of the base which are wax coated will thenpermit the production of visible lines, while the uncoated parts willremain blank when the stylus is moved thereover.

The wax-coated base may have its surface temporarily covered with astencil while a color- If semi-opaque, translucent,

4 less or colored lacquer is applied to the parts exposed by thestencil. After removal of the stencil, the parts covered by the lacquerwill remain blank, while the wax-exposed parts will enable thereproduction of visible lines.

On the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a writing pad herein discussed,showing two devices of this invention placed in position on the base.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the pad of Fig. 1, showing the visibleeffects obtained upon application of a stylus or similar writinginstrument to the writing surface over the devices mounted on the base.

Figure 3 is a plan view of a transparent sheet comprising two parts, onewith printed words Ball and Dog thereon, and the other containing cutout or stamped out likenesses of the object and animal designated on thefirst part.

Figure 4 is a plan view of the writing pad showing the visible resultsobtained when the sheet of Fig. 3 is folded back on itself at the dottedline and inserted in the pad, after a stylus has been applied above thecut-out portions.

Figure 5 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view taken along lineVV of Fig. 4 showing the positions of the two parts of the sheet ofFigure 3 when folded and inserted in the pad of Fig. 4.

Figure 6 is a plan view of another sheet comprising two parts alsoadapted to be folded at the dotted line, the part to be placed above theimpression sheet being transparent and containing line drawings and cutout portions depicting diamonds, and the other part being opaque andhaving cut out portions.

Figure 7 is a top plan view of a pad of the type described showing thebase of the pad containing three separately colored sections below thewax coating.

As shown on the drawings:

Reference numeral I0 designates generally a writing pad of the typeherein discussed, comprising a blue cardboard base H coated with a darkwaxy material I la which is somewhat tacky, a comparatively thinsemi-opaque impression sheet l2 overlying the wax coated surface H01.and adapted to releasably adhere to the coating, and a transparentWriting surface sheet I 3 overlying the impression sheet. The threesheets may be bound together along common edges I4 thereof by anysuitable means such as a writing tablet binder l5. It will be understoodthat a pad containing only base H and semi-opaque sheet 12 could be usedon a pad of this type, in which case the top of the sheet l2 wouldcomprise the writing surface of the pad and would in this case becomposed of a more durable material.

Thin sheets I8 and H exemplifying devices of this invention areillustrated in Figures 1 and 2, which figures may be consideredconjointly. Sheet I6 may be either transparent, translucent,semi-opaque, or opaque. If sheet 16 is other than transparent ortranslucent, it should be colored substantially the same color and shadeas that which appears .on the base with a coloring material which willnot adhere to the impression sheet [2, being thus adapted to beeffectively masked below the impression sheet [2 before the stylus (notshown) is applied to the writing surface. Sheet l6 contains a solidportion and a cut out portion, .an edge of the latter being designatedl6a, outlining a star in its central part. The solid portion of sheet I!is shown as opaque and is colored red, to contrast with the lu ol enthese. w th. s. qq qr ne. mate i which will not tend to adhere to theimpression he t he id q tioh hest 1 es ed; e d t d to heps msh n ly;havinga color thereon which; is bri Sheet il n e s s, W. t p rtio a so.d. ire a t r. an edge of which is designated lla. It should x siee a esible i e n. F ur 1 31 5 i heet l r Par 5d. Q sh st-W her in.- eit q iefiz sh -sheet oh ss h. h s nvenr 9 W sh i ontrastin co r to th color ot base eneath it. ma sen -sin a. p raffin costinsoh t sur ace conta t nhe, impr ssion sheet [2 if desired, in which case the color on the solidportion thereof will: be rendered visible simultaneously with theappearance of the design inits cut out portion aft application of thestylus. In this case, ofcourse, the contrasting color on the solidportion should bev of a weak or subdued nature, inorder that all partsof the design may be removed upon separation of the base and impressionsheet.

Figure} illustrates the visible resultwobtained after a stylushas beenapplied to the writing surface sheet is, the sheet 1,6 remaininginvisible while the cut out design of-a star Ifiain its central portionis clearly visible, appearing the same color as that on the base.The'solid part of sheet I! is visible and will appear-in red while thestar will be visible, being blue the same as the base. I Square sheets[6 and If!" are illustrated merely by way; of example. Sheets for n h sv ti ahbe. f ny s a a d es ou be ve hin. nd. l an an o a ou d sn ossharss er. lorde t a hen mounte o he ase. e, mnr ssiqh s eet yi s h s omay isi l -pre ent a fl tuhinterrupted surface and so that the rubbingof a stylus on the sheet l 3 will not form depressions h c s h us toJump as itpa ses o e he d s -d nin e ges-v Sheet IB, by way of example,could have its outermargin in the shape of a pumpkin, while the cut outparts of therdesign could definethe eyes, nose and mouth. If sheet, l6werethus shaped, and were small in size, acomplete image of apumpkinheadrwould, result after application of the stylus,- and; anylinesextending beyond the outer margin, of thesheet would becontrastingly colored with respect-to the solid portion, thus clearly,bringing outv the image, in contrast with the lines surrounding it. Manyother images can be producedin a like manner.

Either sheet 15 or IT on a givenpad could be larger than shown, beingequal in dimensions to the writing surface of the pad and. beingintegrallybound with the other sheets. In, the case of sheet l1, itssolid portioncouldbe colored, in various colors instead of just; one, asshown. Likewise either sheet lfi or I] could contain many small imageswhich could beproduced separately and obliterated or partiallyobliteratedeither separately or simultaneously; as desired y. e us ts 6;and 1 ma becompssed of fabric msterislit es e Figures 3, 4, and, 5 maybeconsidered coni rur 3 hew a s eet; iiom s n two sections, Illa andjflbrespectivelv-withthe part 18a containin visibly printed words-Ball andDog and part; I 8b containingcut out parts designated at an edge as |8ddefining the like-,

nesses of the respective article and animal visibly named on part 18a.Referring toEig. 4,

d: he; pa or Fiehe. ords f.=.-course, w l be n front: or h impre sion.she t: a d: will be visible at all times. After application, of the s yus o shee h li enesses insert. L812 will be om visi l a jacent the Printd-Words. Fi r 5 s ws-th p s io ng of the parts oi sheet 8- it 'beineolded so t at its parts 18a and t8?) are respectively in frontof and inback of impression sheet; L2, It will be apparent that hee i coulde l rr. in order that, when folded, itslength andwidth could correspond tothat of the writing surface of the pad, Whereupon it couldeit sr. bebound as an integral part of the padas thus folded, o-r'the parts 480.and I81; could-persevered; at the lilielof; fold and bound with itspartsin upright; position at: I5.

Figure 6:-shows a sheet [9 similar; in purpose tothat of sheet i 8,:and, containing; a. transparent part major insertion above theimpression sheet after folding. Bart [9,60, as illustrated, may containcut;- out designs; designated: at an edge as l-9b, and lines I90. Thepart [9d, for insertion below the impression sheet, contains an opaqueredcoating contrasting with the blue color on the base such as, H of Fiures 1 and 2, and also contains cutout portions, designated at an edgeas 96. When sheet: J'Bisfoldedalong line {9}, the. diamonds 19b, and,l:9 c "will. be directlyabove, the circles [99, After application of thestylus, the,cu t out. parts I96. and: 12g will appear in the same colorasthaton. the base, while the solid portions will baited. Part. [9d hasits central portion cut out, in, orderthatthe center of the pad, willbeavailable for: notations.- Sheet 19 is also adapted for use on apadwith a base such as hereinafter discussed in;Eig ure.7. bein adapted foraside binding; tablet asillustrated. 1

It shouldbe-understood that; either sheet; l8 or I9 on a given pad couldbe bound as folded, with the line'offold being at the binding edge is.In the case of sheet. l8, of course, the visible. image on part l3a andthe imagedefined by the cutout parts of part Iflb would have to bearranged so they would both be-upright and in desired superimposedrelation upon folding. Also, it will be understood that the images onsheet l8, instead of being juxtaposed-upon folding, could be arranged sothat they would be superimposed in anydesired combinationof designs.Also, the parts of either sheet l8 or I9 could be separate sheets, thepart below being of fabric material, with the partabovethe impressionsheet being cfa transparent. material.

It will be Seen 'from the above descriptions of Figures 1 to 6 that,innumerable color combina-- visible, or which can be weak orsubduedincharacter and coated with paraffin in order thatthese solid portions.may be brought intoview simultaneously withthe design. defined: by thecut-out portions. Inthe caseofthefoldedinsert sheets I8-andlS-illustrated,.bothparts may.

contain various colors, either matching. or. contrasting with the; coloron the. base.

Figure 7 shows a base I I having an impression surface composed of threesections, Ilb, He, and I Id, respectively colored red, green, and bluebelow the wax coating (not shown) thereon. These colors may be arrangedin any desired manner, and the invention is not limited to anyparticular colors. This type of base is especially adapted for use inconnection with the transparent sheets of this invention, since thistype of sheet if wax coatedon the side contacting the impression sheetwill render visible any color or combination of colors on the base uponapplication of a stylus. If it be desired that the colors on the base ofFigure '7 be substantially invisible through the impression sheet [2before application of the stylus, the colors may be subdued either byprinting them in fairly weak hues, or by putting a small amount of blueor gray coloring in the wax coating over the colors. Alternatively,brighter colors could be used and the semi-opaque coating on theimpression sheet I2 could be heavier, to accomplish the desired results.

It will be evident that the part l8b of Figure 3 and the part l9d ofFigure 6 could be used alone beneath the impression sheet if onlycutouts or similar designs are desired.

From the above description of this invention it will be evident that,with its use, writing pads heretofore only used for temporary notationswill now be capable of automatically producing various designs,pictures, and other indicia in black and white and color combinations.Portions of the pads may be used for these automatic reproductions,while other portions adapted for temporary notations.

The educational advantages of this invention will readily becomeapparent, since a child using the pad will see the printed words naminganimals, birds, or objects, and, by moving the stylus back and forthadjacent the printed words, will be able to easily produce a likeness ofthe desired design. Thus, a knowledge of spelling and its associationwith a likeness of the object designated by the word may be combined toadd to the childs knowledge. In addition, if the child is artisticallyinclined, he may draw the animal, bird, or object on the portion of thepad adapted for temporary notations and free-hand drawing.

If the base of the pad for use in this invention is prepared in eithermanner hereinabove set forth, the base itself will take the place of theinsert sheets with cut-out portions. In this case, if a complementarydesign is desired to be used above such a base, this result can beaccomplished by inserting a single sheet containing permanently visibledesigns between the im pression sheet and the transparent writingsurface sheet in matched relation with the design on the baseunderneath.

It will also be understood that in a pad containing one color on thebase below the paraffin coating, which could, for example, be a darkblue, the visible outlines of drawings on a sheet above the base ashereinabove set forth may be of the same color but of a slightly lightershade than the color on the base, and suitable cut-out means could beprovided directly below such outlined drawings which would completelysurround and remove the drawings from view upon application of thestylus to the writing surface of the pad. In this case, of course, suchoutlined drawings could be brought into view may be :2

8. upon removal of the impression sheet from the base.

Various other uses'of both the silhouettes and like drawings of a'morecomplete nature, and the drawings parts of which may be completed uponapplication of the stylus, will readily become apparent.

I am aware that numerous changes and modifications may be made in theinvention herein described without departing from the scope and spiritthereof, and I therefore do not desire to be limited with respectthereto except insofar as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A writing pad comprising a colored tacky impressionable base, a,semi-opaque impression sheet in superimposed relation to said base andadapted to releasably adhere to said base upon application of pressure,transparent tough diaphanous means including means above said impressionsheet marked with visible indicia and means between said impressionsheet and impressionable base having voids outlining indicia, said voidsupon application of writing pressure to the impression sheet becomingvisible on the impression sheet in the color on the base due to thecontact between the impression sheet and base at the void areas forcoaction with the marked visible indicia to define a desiredcombination.

2. A writing pad comprising in superimposed relation 2. colored tackyimpressionable base, a masking element in contact with said base havingat least one dimension which is less than the corresponding dimension ofsaid base and composed of a tough diaphanous membrane containing designdefining cut out portions, and a removably superimposed semi-opaqueimpression sheet normally hiding said masking element and the color ofsaid base when lying thereagainst but being adapted to releasably adhereto the exposed portions of said base upon ap-' plication of writingpressure to said impression sheet to enable predetermined parts of thepad outside the area encompassed by said membrane to be used for writingand other predetermined parts of the pad within the area encompassed bysaid membrane to be used for the automatic production of desired designsdefined by the design defining cut out portions of said masking elementupon application of writing pressure to said impression sheet over saiddesired designdcfining cut out sections including and extending beyondthe cut out areas thereof.

3. A writing pad comprising a colored tacky impressionable base, asemi-opaque impression sheet, and a transparent writing sheet insuperimposed relation, tough diaphanous means including means between.said impression sheet and impressionable base having voids outliningindicia normally masked by said overlying impression sheet and meansabove the impression sheet marked with visible indicia indicating thelocation of the indicia-outlining voids below the impression sheet, saidmasked indicia-outlining voids becoming visible on the impression sheetupon the application of writing pressure to'the impression sheet in thecolor of the base to cooperate with the marked indicia above theimpression sheet for defining a desired combination.

4. In a writing pad comprising a base having a colored tackyimpressionable surface and an impression sheet overlying and hiding saidsurface but adapted to releasably adhere to said surface and rendervisible the color thereof along a line of impressure, the combinationwhich comprises a masking element composed of a substantiallytransparent tough diaphanous membrane interposed between the base andsaid impression sheet permitting full contact of .said impression sheetand base at certain areas while preventing such contact at other areasto produce a predetermined effect on the impression sheet when pressureis applied along the areas thereof superimposed over said areas of themasking element.

5. The writing pad of claim 4 wherein the masking element is a stencilcontaining cutout and solid portions, the cut-out portions being adaptedto be rendered visible through the impression sheet upon application ofa writing instrument to the surface of the pad by moving said instrumentback and forth thereover at points including the cut-out portionstherebelow to produce a predetermined effect on the impression sheet.

6. In a writing pad comprising a base having a colored tackyimpressionable surface and an impression sheet overlying and hiding saidsurface but adapted to releasably adhere to said surface and rendervisible the color thereof along a line of impressure, the combinationwhich comprises a masking element composed of a tough diaphanousmembrane having substantially the same color as the impressionablesurface and interposed between the base and the impression sheet andpermitting full contact of said impression sheet and base at certainareas while preventing such contact at other areas to pro- Number NameDate 148,291 Fowler Mar. 10, 1874 793,376 Jahn June 27, 1905 1,275,997Adler Aug. 20, 1918' 1,541,480 Compton et al June 9, 1925 1,555,642Deutsch Sept. 29, 1925 1,568,548 Edelson Jan. 5, 1926 1,729,916 VernonOct. 1, 1929 2,201,479 Davidson May 21, 1940 2,323,521 De Journette July6, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 172,434 Germany June 21,1906 duce a. predetermined effect on the impression sheet when pressureis applied along the areas thereof superimposed over the areas of themasking element. 7. The writing pad of claim 6 wherein the maskingelement is a stencil containing cut-out and solid portions, the -cut-outportions being adapted to be rendered visible through the impressionsheet upon the application of a writing instrument to the surface of thepad by moving said instrument back and forth thereover at pointsincluding the cut-out portions therebelow to produce a predeterminedefi'ecton the impression sheet.

. GEORGE W. DECHERT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

